Leading Sunni Scholar Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi: "A Woman May Not Travel Alone to Study in a Western Country"

Following are excerpts from an interview with Sunni scholar Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi, which aired on the Al-Jazeera network on April 15, 2012 :

Interviewer : A Muslim sister asks what is the ruling regarding a woman traveling to study [abroad] without a male relative as chaperone.

Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi : Traveling by herself?

Interviewer : Yes.

Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi : A woman may not travel alone to study in a Western country, or in any country, for that matter. She must not travel to a Western or any foreign country, where she knows no one and has to live on her own. If it is unavoidable, we must try to… For example, Qatar wanted to send some girls to Egypt to study for an M.A. or a Ph.D. So it prepared a special building for them, with rooms, kitchens, and supervision, and the girls went to live there during their studies. This is a possibility.

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